


Alignment

by Rigel99



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 12:27:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10536456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rigel99/pseuds/Rigel99
Summary: A mini-hundred word challenge to kick my creative juices into gear.Where Aaron Hotchner is the centre of Spencer Reid's galaxy, moving ever closer to his orbit.





	1. Pluto

The day that Aaron Hotchner walked into Jason Gideon’s domain requesting his assistance on a case, Spencer Reid knew he was screwed.

No genius required to realise that fact.

You can analyse the lurch in your stomach, the increased heart rate, the slightly sweaty palms and the rush of endorphins that coincide with the combined presence of that person, that voice and the obvious passion for his vocation - protect the innocent and punish the guilty.

It doesn’t change anything.

And when their eyes met for the first time, Spencer Reid may as well have been Pluto to Aaron Hotchner’s Sun.


	2. Neptune

Aaron wasn’t answering his phone.

 _“Wheels up sooner than planned, Spencer,”_ Gideon had stressed. _“Swing by on your way and speed him along, will you?”_

Five minutes later, he was standing on Hotch’s doorstep, knocking. Ten seconds after that, a semi-naked SSA, dripping shower water ushered him in.

“I know, I know,” Hotchner muttered, heading to the bedroom to throw together a kitbag. Spencer barely heard every third word. Something about Hayley; Unwell; Jack; At his Aunt’s…

“You OK? Earth to Doctor Reid…”

He had no idea how long he’d been stood there.

He could really use a cold shower.


	3. Uranus

“Garcia, stop!”

“Oh come on, genius. You’re the only one in here who can pull off pink!” In a flail of arms, Spencer laughed warmly as he managed to escape her clutches and backed into the communal kitchen, shutting the door quickly and turning to lean against it.

He wasn’t expecting to be met with the shapely form of Aaron Hotchner’s ass stuck in the air while bent over to gather the remains of a broken cup.

His mouth went dry before he found the words between longing stares.

“Um, need a hand?”

Aaron turned. “Two if you have them…”


	4. Saturn

Time. A gift.

Some see time as a curse. Life deteriorates. But does blossom new.

And beauty, can blossom unexpected, in the most unlikely of places.

It had taken Aaron years to recognise the beauty before - and beside - him. And when he did, it hit him with full, brutal force. But that was the way Hotchner lived. The closer to the reality, the harder it was for him to embrace it.

So he buried the realisation deep.

For now.

He needed more time. To learn, to understand.

He didn’t realise then how much he would come to need Spencer Reid.


	5. Jupiter

The hum of the plane’s engine was the only sound.

All members of the team sleeping after an arduous case. Spencer was staring out the cabin window, lost in thought.

He startled at the sudden bolt of lightning, bouncing between rolling clouds, swiftly followed by the crack of thunder.

“Everything alright?” Hotchner’s soft voice startled him again, more so when he felt his presence impossibly close, his aura seeming to reach and wrap around him. An inexplicable feeling of comfort held him captive, drawing him back from his isolation.

His guard was down when their eyes met.

Neither looked away.


	6. Mars

“I can’t— I want— wan—… We could fight it.”

Spencer’s words were a breathless and unconvincing attempt at saving them both from the rabbit hole into which they were about to tumble, with nothing to cling to but one another.

There was a searching look in Aaron’s eyes but it was a new type of seeking unfamiliar to Spencer. Maybe he was looking for a way forward, a mutual space they could occupy.

His eyes turned dark, hungry. Spencer thought he would drown. But Aaron had made the decision and threw him the lifeline.

“Grab your things,” he whispered softly.


	7. Earth

Aaron drew the SUV to a halt along the kerb. He kept his hands on the steering wheel.

Spencer reached over to place a hand over one of them.

“It’s OK, Hotch. I know why we’re here. It’s important.”

Aaron glanced at him, and with a small nod and tight but warm smile, he climbed out of the vehicle.

Spencer watched as he moved through the gravestones in the semi-darkness, watched as he placed a hand on Hayley’s headstone and bowed his head.

Tears would fall, moisten the earth beneath which she lay.

Tears of regret, sorrow and farewell.


	8. Venus

“You’re very good at that,” Hotchner mumbled with quiet intensity.

His touch, firm but tentative, felt unsure of how something so unfamiliar could feel so completely perfect.

The skin of Spencer’s back felt like liquid beneath his hands, the ripple of his muscles shifting smoothly as he explored with lips and tongue, the body lying under him, discovering anew his own needs reborn.

Spencer stopped suddenly. Their chests together, hearts pulsing so that the strong systole of Hotchner’s filled the soft diastole of Spencer’s beat. Their kiss mirrored that rhythm, fingers intertwined, bodies moulded to sweat-soaked sheets in some illuminating dark.


	9. Mercury

“It’s hard for me. To say the words. I’ve only ever said them to one other person,” Aaron said hesitantly. “Well. Two. If you include Jack, though obviou—“

Spencer decided to help him out and so silenced him with a kiss.

“You like it then?” Aaron asked, breaking away with a smile.

“It’s perfect. You know the way to a geek’s heart, Agent Hotchner,” Spencer said, grinning widely while lifting a pawn to study the detail, fashioned from porcelain into the likeness of Hermes, messenger of the gods.

“You say what you need to say in other ways. Message received…”


	10. The Sun

“Did you know the sun is a star?”

Spencer smiled. “I did,” he replied with a smile, watching Jack study the pieces on the chessboard. He’d never be a Master but he’d be able to take on his Dad and win soon enough.

“But if it’s a star, won’t it burn out?”

“Eventually,” said Spencer, taking one of his knights. “But we’ll be long gone by then. Exploring the galaxy. New worlds…”

“And when Earth disappears?”

“Time is a constant. Love is too,” Spencer whispered, looking up to greet Aaron as he entered the room.

“Love will always be.”


End file.
